Poyet: Brighton are not ready for promotion to the Premier League

Brighton and Hove Albion manager Gus Poyet reckons it would take big changes for his side to be ready for promotion to the Premier League, after Liverpool beat them 6-1 in the FA Cup.

The Seagulls sit ninth in the Championship, two points outside the play-offs, with many suggesting they could be dark horses for promotion.

But after being hammered at Anfield in the fifth round of the FA Cup, Poyet admitted his side were nowhere near ready for the step up and it would be hard for them to be a success in the top division of English football.

Poyet said: “I’ve been very honest with the press, especially from Brighton, for the last two or three months when they’ve been talking about promotion. I have said I want to be ready, I don’t want to come to Anfield and lose 6-1 and [we have proved] we’re not [ready].

“People think I am being negative, I think that maybe they will [now] say he was right.

“The best way to get to the Premier League is to be ready. When you’ve got strength, power, technical ability and understanding, then you can play in the Premier League.

“If not you should forget about playing in the top six [of the Championship] because you are going to suffer, not matter how many players you put behind the ball. It doesn’t matter if you play long or short. You’ve got to have quality and you need to defend.

“People are getting excited because we are doing alright but we are not ready. Of course I’m not going to lose three games [deliberately] not to go up. It will be a massive change if we do [get promoted].

“It would be fantastic for me as a manager but then we’d have to change completely and I mean big [changes] because I don’t want to play in the Premier League and lose 6-1.”